U.S. West cooks under record heat, temperatures still rising

LOS ANGELES, June 17 ------ Much of the western United States baked for a third day on Wednesday under a punishing heat wave that has already set temperature records, prompted health warnings and strained power grids. Although a shift in the weather has provided some relief to northern states, including Montana and Idaho, the worst was still to come for California, National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Schoening said.

“We’re in a long duration heat wave across the Western U.S.,” Schoening said. “Across the desert Southwest extending into California we’re still ramping up the temperatures throughout the rest of the week.” Salt Lake City, Utah, on Tuesday tied its all-time high temperature since record-keeping began in 1894, at 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Phoenix, Arizona, tied a record for this date at 115 degrees and Needles, California, hit 121 degrees, also tying a daily record.

The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings across the U.S. West, warning that such temperatures can be dangerous. No fatalities had been reported from the brutally hot weather as of Wednesday afternoon. “Try not to spend too much time outside during hottest part of the day. Wear light clothing, stay hydrated,” Schoening said, adding that residents should be “keeping an eye on pets, checking on the elderly, not leaving anyone, including kids or pets in hot cars.” The weather service also issued red flag warnings of high fire danger in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. Major wildfires were burning in Colorado and Arizona.

Source: inquirer.net